I'm a contractor, which makes it much easier to turn down (how the hell could I possibly keep working with a non-compete?), but the OP is correct in that almost everything is a PDF nowadays. You have to bitch and scream to get a contract changed. Most naive workers won't understand that there's a negotiation process; they simply think that the contract represents the job.
> Hey Frank, just read through the non-compete and I have a few small changes. 1. Since we're only working on a proto-type for a classifier for sorting documents can we amend the non-compete to specifically mention that domain? I don't want to limit my options unnecessarily but I appreciate you wanting to stop me from turning around and selling this stuff to Microsoft once you're done. 2. The term is unlimited right now, which I'm not even sure if that can stand up in court. Let's cap it at 2 years from project completion or my leaving the project. If it's easier for you to just agree to these changes over email just reply by saying "Sure Zach, these changes are completely reasonable." and I'll sign and add "with agreed changes" next to my signature.
That will 100% stand up in court, and really if they say "no" to it then you say "no" to the opportunity, but I've never not been able to get to an agreement with someone. Good help is hard to find, and a little charisma goes a long way when negotiating.
Your example sounds perfectly fine! But if you've spent decades building "3D animation engines for games" at various companies that do so - and that's basically your career now - you won't be helped much by being specific about what type of work is considered competition. YMMV, so concede only in ways that leave your options open.
For my current gig as a linux sysadmin I was hired a couple of years ago, and handed a standard employee contract. There was a clause in there that I agreed not to install free software on my work computer. The clause was just there for tech naives who might install any old crap, but it was funny for a linux professional. There was zero trouble amending the 'standard contract' to get rid of that clause. :)
In any case, you can bet your booties that the higher up the food chain you go, the less people get a 'standard' contract and the more it's tailored individually to them.
But when you're just getting a start and think that "this contract is life or death"? It's a non-starter, you would never think of negotiating it.
It makes more sense for them to simply be illegal than negotiable for that very reason.
I've never had to bitch or scream. Just say "Oh and by the way, I have a couple of changes I need made to the contract".
Nobody's ever made me feel unreasonable for asking that, not even when I was fresh out of college.
That way they feel like they've been heard and their concerns are taken into account which makes them feel better when/if you formulate a new clause.
Sending back a printed list of demands could be interpreted as unnecessarily confrontational.
This is a your-mileage-may-vary thing and there is no easy answer for all cases.
You don't have to be willing to accept it, just be willing to hear their side of the story.
Print out the PDF, pencil in your changes, and then scan the document.
Thats what me and my school would do for actual contracts that were made for performing artist contracts, ect.
What's so immutable about a PDF? I'm thinking about my most recent job where when the contract arrived in my inbox it had a salary 10% lower than I expected. I was disappointed and anxious about how to continue. It was a good job, but I didn't want to take a pay cut. I sent off a quick email clarify it, unsure how it was received. An hour later I got a short apology and a new contract.
Asking is free. It's as they say - you never know if you never go. If they still resist, then you've done the hardest part of starting the conversation, and it's up to you to see if you want to continue with the negotiations.